Should I put my 5 week old puppy in a crate at night while letting her out to go to eliminate every 2 hours?

Question

I know this puppy was too young to be taken from the litter but the breeder insisted and was letting the litter mates go at the same time as well. I know of people who have her dogs (GSD) and they haven't had any long term problems with their dogs so I'm hoping for the best. I just don't know if the rules for an 8week old puppy apply to a 5 week old. I don't want to traumatize her by having her cry while in the crate.
I would also like to know if anyone can tell me the best way to socialize this puppy since she should really be with her litter mates. She will be a big dog and is already showing signs of being aggressive. Thanks for any help you can give me.
K.

Answer 1

Oh yes you can leave a 5 week old puppy in a crate at night. But remember that the puppy will need to go out side as you say every two hours until you go to bed. Do not leave any water or food in the crate with her. To socialize your puppy take her to any store that allows dogs i.e. Petco; PetSmart or any other place. Also, take her to strip malls or other malls for a walk. You shouldn't take her to a dog park yet. If she is crying in the crate put a warm towel with a ticking clock in the crate. It will reminder her of a heartbeat and she will cuddle with the warm towel. As for aggression, getting her out with other people but I don't really think she is being aggressive more likely she is playing but since she has no other puppies to play with she will look and sound aggressive. If I can help please feel free to email me.

Answer 2

It was against the law for the breeder to sell or give away a puppy this young and it was also against the law for you to buy or adopt a puppy this young. Both you and the breeder could get into trouble . This so called breeder really should be reported.
As for a 5 week old..they are NOT even close to old enough for housetraining..they are infants still...they need to go out more often then every 2 hours..having her cry in a crate won't traumatize her any more then being taken from her mom and littermates too young.

You can't do much by way of socialization until she is 8 weekso ld and had her first vaccinations (absolutely NO vaccinations younger then 8 weeks...it can supress their immune system,interfer with natural immunity, make them more suseptible to the very illness the vaccinations are suppose to protect against, cause future problems with vaccines).
Be aware..you bought your puppy from an irresponsible breeder so you need to be prepared for socialization, temeprament, behavioral & health issues.

Answer 3

Shame, shame, shame on that breeder for letting the dog go at this early age. I am sorry that you've ended up with a pup in this way - because it is now your job (and expense) to train this pup so that she will not be a danger to other dogs and to humans.
This could have all been avoided if the breeder had kept her with the litter and her Mom as she was supposed to. Why the rush?
Please talk to your Vet about nutritions and (insert gigantic red neon blinking sign here) *contact a positive trainer* ASAP. Here are 2 sites to do that:
http://www.ccpdt.com
and
http://www.iaabc.org

Additionally, I recommend that you join the Start Puppy Training group here on Yahoo. It's a free, moderated list and you can choose to participate or just read. You will get answers to any question you post, and as it's moderated, the quality of the answers will be much better - and all positive.
Here is the link:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/spt/
Good luck!

***edit - I agree with Tankstar 100%. Call the Humane society, and complain to the BBB. It is shocking what people try to get away with. Please - don't let this breeder continue these bad business practices.

Answer 4

You do know that in most places it is illegal to sell a puppy before 8 weeks right? I honestly suggest that you take this puppy back to the so called breeder for 2 more weeks. Border collies tend to have a hard time learning to socialize with other dogs, so having him socialize with the other puppies in his litter would be a huge benefit. And as for crate training, you put her in the crate whenever you cannot supervise her. Yes, she will whine. All puppies do. You IGNORE this and hte puppy will stop. Then she will learn to like the crate. Puppy mill or not, the owners of the dogs are still BYBs and are not real breeders. I should hope they learn from this and get their animals spayed.

Answer 5

What a shitty breeder you got this dog from. I wouod start all training ASAP and REALLy find some small puppies for it to play with to learn what it would have learn in te last 3 weeks of being with its mother and litter mates, I would also call the human society on her. Almost every place has a law against selling dogs younger then 8 weeks. What a disgusting back yard breeder you bought your puppy from.

Answer 6

may as well. I mean, you know all the stuff that's wrong about the sitution, but you'll have to deal with it the best way you can. this is it.
as for socializing, I think you should wait until the pup has had some vaccinations, and built up some immunity. there are also some good puppy socialization classes, almost everywhere, and that would be a very good idea.

Answer 7

Poor little baby! I firmly believe in crate training...with one exception: I tether my puppy next to my bed at night time. This advice was from the book "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete. My little golden puppy was 8 weeks when I brought him home. I tethered him to my nightstand that night and gave him a special bedtime toy. When he cried, I dropped my hand down to comfort him. When he made a different cry, kind of anxious, I got up and took him out to his special spot.

By the second night he only cried when he had to go out. I did the same thing with my first Golden who died in January. He never cried after the first night except to go potty. Every person I know who has gotten a new puppy and tethered at night has told me what great advice this is. IT REALLY WORKS! The book is terrific. The monks now have a TV show similar to the Dog Whisperer.

My puppy is now 3 months old and is still tethered every night, in fact when it's about bedtime, he'll go in and lay down by the bed all by himself. The rest of the time is very standard crate training. When he's totally potty trained, I won't tether him.

Re: aggression. Do the calming exercises. Cradle your baby in your arms and keep her there even if she struggles, all the while telling her what a sweetie she is, what pretty ears and any other nonsense we love to whisper to babies & puppies. Do this for a couple of minutes and look into her eyes a lot.
Another is to sit on the floor facing away from you. hold your left hand under her muzzle and your right on her chest. Massage her gently and talk to her, slowly working up to looking in her ears, then her mouth and opening her mouth. Very gently turn her little head back and forth. The last is to lay her down with her legs facing away from you. Keep one hand on the scruff of her neck and the other on her side. She'll probably struggle, just give her a tiny shake, say "No!" and continue to stroke her from the top of her head to the tip of her tail and every part in between. Especially massage her little paws, ears & mouth.

I do a kind of sing songy phrase: "Settle down. Puppy, puppy. Just relax". When my Golden died in January, I kept stroking him and and did the sing songy relax phrase. It seemed to comfort him greatly...I know it did me!. You'll have your own thing you make up for her, just as you would a baby.

Do try the tether thing, making sure she can move around enough to turn around. I also let my little guy sleep on my sweatshirt. By the way, he goes to his crate all the time, takes naps in there, etc......but bedtime is laying on the floor next to Mom with his special nighty-night toy.

Socializing this baby is going to be hard...she's so young. I would do everything the same as for an older puppy, being extremely careful not to let a bigger puppy scare her, etc. She can't be at parks or other doggy places until she's finished with her shots. Try a baby stroller and walk around the malls or any place where there's a lot of foot traffic. (Not the indoor kind as they won't allow it). DO NOT take her to the pet store with you!

Hope this helps. Let us know.

Sandy

Answer 8

the breeder shouldn't be breeding dogs hes a moron any ways make it a cozy as possible for your baby,put blankets in the create and some stuffed toys for her to cuddle with take her to the dog park if you have one get her into training asap pet co has classes even on walks let her socialize as much as possible if you have a friend with a dog go for walks together good luck and as for the breeder they should be reported

Answer 9

LOL, i would like to see where the law is that you cannot sell or purchase a 5 wk old pup, sheesh. Yes they should be with their mother for a while yet, but, i do remember the day when all pups were into forever homes at 6 wks. Now days so many dont want ppl to have pups they want to sell almost full grown dogs, 3 mos or older. Your pup will be fine, just give it comfort, it will love its kennel in no time, give it a special blanket a toy, little room to do its outside business in there and he will be just fine, You can teach it sociallly by playing with it just like mom would of. And cover the crate when it is in there it helps with the security

Answer 10

ok when a puppy whines in the crate just turn down the lights and if u have the tv on turn it down it worked with mine if that really dosent work just get a pen and a blanket and put it in ur room so she has room to lay down